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Ropework or marlinespike seamanship are a traditional umbrella terms for a skillset spanning the use, maintenance, and repair of rope rope. Included are tying knots, splicing, making lashings, whippings, and proper use and storage of rope. While the skill of a sailor in the Age of Sail was often judged by how well he knew marlinespike seamanship, the knowledge it embraces involving docking a craft, towing, making repairs underway, and more are still critical knowledge for modern seafarers.

Whipping frayed ropes

A whipping knot is a means of holding the cut end of a rope together to prevent fraying and ensure ease of use. Constrictor knots can serve as temporary whippings while cutting ropes, as can a few layers of adhesive tape. The simplest form is the common whipping.

Fusing frayed ropes

Fusion is a method of treating the end of synthetic fiber rope through use of heat. Make a clean cut near the end and hold the newly cut end a few inches above a flame until the fibers have melted and fused together. Allow the end to cool before touching it or setting it down.

Another method of fusing is used for ropes from non-melting fibers like cotton and aramid. In this case the method is simply to cut the end of the rope, coat or dip the exposed fibers in glue, resin or paint and allow to dry.

However, the rope and knotting expert Geoffrey Budworth warns against the practice of fusing thus:-

Sealing rope ends this way is lazy and dangerous. A tugboat operator once sliced the palm of his hand open down to the sinews after the hardened (and obviously sharp) end of a rope that had been heat-sealed pulled through his grasp. There is no substitute for a properly made whipping.

Daisy chain

In many applications of rope work (e.g. boating, climbing), rope may be efficiently stored for quick and easy utility by tying it into what is referred to as a chain sinnet or daisy chain. A loop is pulled through the rope on the first link, then the process is repeated for the length of the rope. At the last link, a half hitch is tied to stop the rope from coming undone. To undo the daisy chain, simply undo the half hitch and pull - the knot will slip apart.

See also

• List of knots
• List of knot terminology
• Rope splicing

References

1. Budworth, Geoffrey (1985). The Knot Book. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. p. 37. ISBN 0-8069-7944-5.
2. Ashley Book of Knots. 1993. ISBN 0-385-42554-6.

• Ropework